News from the National Institutes of Health

NIH Research News

Public Release: 1-May-2015
ARVO 2015 Annual MeetingNIH launches research to gaze deeply into your eyes
Five bold projects will develop new technology to noninvasively image cells of the eye in unprecedented detail. The National Eye Institute (NEI) announced the awards as part of its Audacious Goals Initiative. NEI has committed $3.8 million to the projects in 2015 and up to $17.9 million over the next five years, pending the availability of funds. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Eye Institute

Public Release: 30-Apr-2015 NeuronSouped-up remote control switches behaviors on-and-off in mice
Neuroscientists have perfected a chemical-genetic remote control for brain circuitry and behavior. This evolving technology can now sequentially switch the same neurons -- and the behaviors they mediate -- on-and-off in mice, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Such bidirectional control is pivotal for decoding the brain workings of complex behaviors. The findings are the first to be published from the first wave of NIH grants awarded last fall under the BRAIN Initiative.
National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 29-Apr-2015 NatureBrain circuitry for positive vs. negative memories discovered in mice
Neuroscientists have discovered brain circuitry for encoding positive and negative learned associations in mice. After finding that two circuits showed opposite activity following fear and reward learning, the researchers proved that this divergent activity causes either avoidance or reward-driven behaviors. They used cutting-edge optical-genetic tools to pinpoint these mechanisms critical to survival, which are also implicated in mental illness.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 25-Apr-2015
Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting New England Journal of MedicineTwo treatments yield similar results for children after cardiac arrest
A large-scale, multicenter study has shown that emergency body cooling does not improve survival rates or reduce brain injury in infants and children with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest more than normal temperature control. Until now, this treatment has not been studied in infants or children admitted to hospitals with cardiac arrest.
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Public Release: 20-Apr-2015 NatureDrugs that activate brain stem cells may reverse multiple sclerosis
Two drugs already on the market -- an antifungal and a steroid -- may potentially take on new roles as treatments for multiple sclerosis. According to a study published in Nature today, researchers discovered that these drugs may activate stem cells in the brain to stimulate myelin-producing cells and repair white matter, which is damaged in multiple sclerosis. The study was partially funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, New York Stem Cell Foundation, Myelin Repair Foundation

Public Release: 20-Apr-2015 American Journal of Tropical Medicine and HygieneGlobal pandemic of fake medicines poses urgent risk, scientists say
Poor quality medicines are an urgent threat that could undermine decades of successful efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, according to the editors of a journal supplement published today. Scientists report up to 41 percent of specimens failed to meet quality standards in global studies of about 17,000 drug samples. Seventeen articles are included in the supplement 'The Global Pandemic of Falsified Medicines,' published by The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
NIH/Fogarty International Center, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, New Venture Fund

Public Release: 15-Apr-2015NIH launches largest clinical trial focused on HIV-related cardiovascular disease
Researchers have begun enrolling participants in a multicenter international clinical trial to test whether a statin can reduce the risk of heart disease in people with HIV infection, who are up to twice as likely as people without HIV infection to have heart disease. The trial is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 13-Apr-2015NIH, South African Medical Research Council award $8 million in HIV, TB grants
NIH and the South African Medical Research Council are awarding 31 grants to US and South African scientists to support research targeting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and HIV-related co-morbidities and cancers. The awards, which total $8 million in first-year funding, are the first to be issued through the South Africa-US Program for Collaborative Biomedical Research.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 13-Apr-2015NIH still active in Gulf region 5 years after oil spill
Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, researchers at the National Institutes of Health are actively working with Gulf region community partners, to learn if any human health problems resulted from the disaster and establish a new research response plan to be better prepared for future disasters.
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 9-Apr-2015NIH funds 9 antimicrobial resistance diagnostics projects
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded more than $11 million in first-year funding for nine research projects supporting enhanced diagnostics to rapidly detect antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The awardee institutions will develop tools to identify certain pathogens that frequently cause infections in health care settings and, specifically, those that are resistant to most antimicrobials.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 8-Apr-2015 NatureAnti-HIV antibody shows promise in first human study
A single infusion of an experimental anti-HIV antibody called 3BNC117 resulted in significantly decreased HIV levels that persisted for as long as 28 days in HIV-infected individuals, according to Phase 1 clinical trial findings published online today in Nature. The research was led by long-time NIAID grantee Michel C. Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D., of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at The Rockefeller University in New York City.

Public Release: 8-Apr-2015 Science Translational MedicineAllergy drug inhibits hepatitis C in mice
An over-the-counter drug indicated to treat allergy symptoms limited hepatitis C virus activity in infected mice, according to a National Institutes of Health study. The results suggest that the drug, chlorcyclizine HCl, potentially could be used to treat the virus in people. Results were published April 8 in Science Translational Medicine.

Public Release: 6-Apr-2015 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesNIH-funded scientists identify receptor for asthma-associated virus
Scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have identified a cellular receptor for rhinovirus C, a cold-causing virus that is strongly associated with severe asthma attacks. A variant in the gene for this receptor previously had been linked to asthma in genetic studies, but the potential role of the receptor, called CDHR3, in asthma was unknown. The new findings help clarify the function of CDHR3 and point to a novel target for the development of prevention and treatment strategies against rhinovirus C-induced colds and asthma attacks.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 1-Apr-2015NIBIB at NIH expert can provide comment on current state of robotics in surgery
Johnson & Johnson announced a collaboration with Google on March 26, 2015, to advance surgical robots by integrating medical device technology with robotic systems, imaging and data analytics; National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health can provide comment on state of the science.

Public Release: 1-Apr-2015 New England Journal of MedicineExperimental Ebola vaccine safe, prompts immune response
An early-stage clinical trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine conducted at the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found that the vaccine, called VSV-ZEBOV, was safe and elicited robust antibody responses in all 40 of the healthy adults who received it.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 30-Mar-2015 Advances in Neonatal CarePromoting maternal interaction improves growth, weight gain in preemies
An intervention to teach mothers of preterm infants how to interact with their babies more effectively results in better weight gain and growth for the infants, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 26-Mar-2015Ebola test vaccines appear safe in phase 2 Liberian clinical trial
Two experimental Ebola vaccines appear to be safe based on evaluation in more than 600 people in Liberia who participated in the first stage of the Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines in Liberia Phase 2/3 clinical trial, according to interim findings from an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board review. Based on these findings, the study, which is sponsored by the NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, may now advance to Phase 3 testing.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 26-Mar-2015 PloS PathogensHIV can spread early, evolve in patients' brains
HIV can genetically evolve and independently replicate in patients' brains early in the illness process, an analysis of cerebral spinal fluid has found. Prompt diagnosis and treatment with antiretroviral therapy should reduce the risk that the virus could find refuge and cause damage in the brain, where some medications are less effective -- potentially enabling it to re-emerge, even after it is suppressed in the periphery, say researchers.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 19-Mar-2015 NatureStrengthening the immune system's fight against brain cancer
When cancer strikes, it may be possible for patients to fight back with their own defenses, using a strategy known as immunotherapy. According to a new study published in Nature, researchers have found a way to enhance the effects of this therapeutic approach in glioblastoma, a deadly type of brain cancer, and possibly improve patient outcomes. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 19-Mar-2015 New England Journal of MedicineNIH-funded researchers find off-patent antibiotics effectively combat MRSA skin infections
Researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have found that two common antibiotic treatments work equally well against bacterial skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) acquired outside of hospital settings. Known as community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA, these skin infections have been reported in athletes, daycare-age children, students, military personnel and prison inmates, among others, and can lead to hospitalization, surgical procedures, bacteria in the blood, and in severe cases, death.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 12-Mar-2015 CellNIH researchers develop database on healthy immune system
An extensive database identifying immune traits, such as how immune cell function is regulated at the genetic level in healthy people, is reported by researchers from NIH and their collaborators. While many genetic risk factors have been linked to various diseases, including autoimmune disorders, how a genetic change causes susceptibility to a disease is not always clear. By studying healthy people, researchers from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center and colleagues from King's College London have created a reference resource for other scientists.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 11-Mar-2015 NeuronStudy reveals how genetic changes lead to familial Alzheimer's disease
Mutations in the presenilin-1 gene are the most common cause of inherited, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. In a new study, published in Neuron, scientists replaced the normal mouse presenilin-1 gene with Alzheimer's-causing forms of the human gene to discover how these genetic changes may lead to the disorder. Their surprising results may transform the way scientists design drugs that target these mutations to treat inherited or familial Alzheimer's, a rare form of the disease.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Alzheimer's Association, Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences

Public Release: 9-Mar-2015 Fertility & SterilityPhysical labor, hypertension and multiple meds may reduce male fertility
Working in a physically demanding job, having high blood pressure, and taking multiple medications are among health risks that may undermine a man's fertility, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Stanford University, Stanford, California. The study is the first to examine the relationships between workplace exertion, health, and semen quality as men are trying to conceive. The results were published online in Fertility and Sterility.
National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 6-Mar-2015NIH-led study to assess community-based hepatitis C treatment in Washington, D.C.
Officials from NIH and the city of Washington, D.C., launched a clinical trial to examine whether primary care physicians and other health care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can use a new antiviral therapy as effectively as specialist physicians to treat people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The trial, which will involve 600 adult D.C. residents infected with HCV alone or co-infected with HCV and HIV, also will examine the long-term effects of the treatment.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases